St. Louis, Missouri and Louisville, Kentucky

John and Marijean joined us in St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday (May 1). Saw their new motorhome for the first time. Beautiful!

That night, we first went to the top of the Hyatt in downtown St. Louis for drinks and to get a view of the city from up high. Then, we went out to eat at a great restaurant in downtown St. Louis called Lombardos on Market Street.

Before we leave St. Louis, we have a few more pictures from that great city taken the day before they joined us.

One of the courtrooms in the old Courthouse

St. Louis is home to the Courthouse where the famous Dred Scott case originated. This case was a precursor to the Civil War. The US Supreme Court held in that case that, among other things, Mr. and Mrs. Scott, as African-Amerians, were not citizens of the United States, and thus could not bring a lawsuit to determine their status as free blacks.

Ceiling in the old Courthouse

The old Courthouse with the St. Louis Arch in the background

One last close-up of the St. Louis Arch

Last time, we posted pictures of the Arch taken on the other side of the Mississippi River. There is a park there that was the idea of Malcolm W. Martin, a long-time lawyer in St. Louis (now deceased). 

Jerry (and Chanti) sitting with the statute of Malcolm W. Martin

The walkway to the left is part of the Malcolm M. Martin project.

We waited for the sun to go down to take some pictures from the walkway.

The St. Louis Arch as taken from the Malcolm W. Martin walkway.

On Thursday (May 2), John and Marijean, and Jerry and I, traveled to the KOA in Louisville South, Kentucky, to be here for the 139th Kentucky Derby. 

It is a good thing that we went to Churchill Downs on Saturday because it rained all day on Sunday, the day of the Derby. (For the record, the horse Orb won the Kentucky Derby.) The event on the day before the Derby is called The Oaks. Our friends, Marlene and Paul, from Charlotte, North Carolina, are avid horse horse racing fans and came to attend the races. 

Only Marijean, Jerry and I went to Churchill Downs on Saturday as John did not want to go with us. Actually, we intended to visit the Derby Museum, but it was closed (even though Jerry had called earlier to check to see whether it was open for the day). That's when we decided to go in to see at least one race. Because we didn't have box or general admission seats, we found a place against the fence near the tracks on the in-field.

Churchill Downs Entrance

Taken from our viewpoint at the fence.

That evening, we met Marlene and Paul at the Cattleman's Road House for dinner. Jerry, Marlene, John and Marijean go way back to 1965-66. It was so much fun catching up with them again.

John, Marijean, Mary, Jerry, Marlene and Paul

Picture taken outside of the restaurant.

John and Marijean left the park this morning. Jerry and I will leave tomorrow for Lexington, Kentucky. 

Have a great week ahead, everyone!